The Federal Government has commenced negotiations with the leadership of the National Assembly to resolve the crisis surrounding the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central), following her six months’ suspension by the Senate.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Women Affairs, Iman Suleiman-Ibrahim, disclosed that efforts were ongoing to appeal for leniency and restore calm.
“We’re engaging all the stakeholders to ensure that they temper justice with mercy,” Suleiman-Ibrahim told State House correspondents during a Meet-the-Press Programme.
Naija News reports that her remarks came barely 24 hours after the Senate handed Akpoti-Uduaghan a six-month suspension over what the upper chamber described as bringing the Senate to disrepute.
Background Of The Suspension
The crisis began when Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted a petition alleging that she had been sexually harassed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
However, the Senate dismissed the petition on procedural grounds and referred her case to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, which recommended her suspension.
The committee argued that the Kogi lawmaker had ridiculed the Senate, leading to the resolution to suspend her.
‘It’s An Unfortunate Incident’ – Women Affairs Minister
Reacting to the situation, Suleiman-Ibrahim described the suspension as regrettable and warned against reducing female representation in the Senate.
The minister said, “It’s an unfortunate incident that should not happen. In the last assembly, we had nine women senators. We don’t want to be losing any woman member in the Senate or experiencing a decrease in numbers.”
She further reiterated the government’s commitment to fostering dialogue and ensuring a peaceful resolution.
The Women Affairs Minister expressed optimism that peace talks could yield positive results, revealing that Senate President Akpabio had indicated a willingness to negotiate.
She said, “I was at the National Assembly yesterday, at the Senate where we marked the International Women’s Day. The last thing the Senate President said was, ‘We’re open to broker peace.’”
She added that the government would act as a mediator between the two parties to ensure that peace prevails.
Suleiman-Ibrahim stated, “So we’re going to be the intermediary between the two parties to see that we broker peace; for peace to reign, and then we’ll continue to sensitise everyone so that we learn to work better together as women and men.”
